You've come across so much about people using slimming jabs to lose weight, it feels like the moment has come to try them out ahead of the festive season. The problem is expense.
Yet it appears there are other options rather than getting a prescription and visiting the chemist. An SMS arrives providing a URL to a website with more affordable medication – and with no need to navigate proper procedures. And you saw a comparable advertisement on online platforms recently, prompting you to go for it.
The catch is such promotions are almost certainly scams. At best, you'll receive no product and lose whatever money you paid. In the worst, you receive a fake version, with unknown ingredients that could lead to serious medical issues.
The widespread use of legitimate weight loss medications has led to a increase in fake goods hitting the market and scams established to merely steal consumers' cash.
Health authorities have warned against purchasing such unlawful slimming medications absent a doctor's order from aesthetic clinics, bogus online chemists or through social media, stating they might include “toxins and other ingredients which may provoke genuine injury”.
New figures from a major retail bank show a significant surge in the quantity of customers who have been affected by the fraud. According to the bank, the total sum lost to fraudulent activities involving slimming jabs, pens, pills and lipid-reducing solutions during the third quarter , was over twice the overall amount lost in the prior quarter. Each incident typically sets back sufferers £120, it says.
“Fraudsters are actively exploiting people’s insecurities and health concerns, with these scams skyrocketing in the past few months,” says a financial institution's fraud prevention lead.
How It Appears
The majority take place on communication platforms and social networks. Across platforms, an account may imitate the company that you seek, but there will typically be subtle differences in text or logos.
These communications or updates will often use pressure-inducing language such as “limited-time offer”, “special promotion” or “free giveaway”.
As the price of some legitimate slimming injections, rose of late, the scammers will price their “item” lower.
“Buying from unverified sellers online can come at a significant monetary, health-related and emotional cost,” says the security specialist.
What to do
Like any deceptive scheme, the old adage applies: should something seem overly advantageous, then it probably is.
Medical authorities have cautioned people to be extremely cautious when buying medicines via the web. They should solely be acquired from a registered pharmacy using a prescription issued by a medical practitioner, it says. If sourced elsewhere, they may pose significant dangers to wellbeing.
Fraudsters can go to great lengths to make their site or online profile look as authentic as possible. Should they state to be an internet-based chemist located within Great Britain, you can check the online portal of the pharmaceutical regulatory body to confirm they are correctly licensed.
